Stop for a Minute
by Inamioly
Summary: Ron's gone. The jealousy took the best of him, and Harry is left with a broken Hermione. Why is she broken in the first place? HGHP, with some LupinTonks on some chapters. DH compliant.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Well, here I am again. I know, I know, it has been a long time. But I've been kinda sick, with the disease some people in this website appear to suffer of as well. Aaaaand, I am trying something new. HarryHermione – I was quite curious to see why so many people supported this ship. Now I find them adorably adorable. Eheh.

Read, Review and Enjoy, people

P.S. I know there will be some inconsistencies in the story, if you take the book into matters. The thing is, I cannot write very long stories, but I am trying this time. And the details concerning the battle and the Horcruxes just would not fit in my story. So, in this story, : Harry knows Remus' location. (It will be crucial).

So please, guys, bear with me : )

Disclaimer: Nope, as much as I tend to think so, deep down I know none of this is mine.

_And Ron disappeared with a pop._

Hermione's fragile shaking figure was nothing more than a shadow in the middle of the woods. Her sobs were the only thing keeping Harry from drifting away to a far away dreamland where all would be better, her soulless eyes haunting every thought that dared to cross his mind. He wanted to reach for her hand, tell her this was merely a bad dream, lullaby her to sleep and go to sleep himself, hoping to wake up in a new world. But he could not. He knew she loved him. He _knew_ she loved Ron. Nothing he could say would ever triumph over her grief. She loved Ron.

"Hermione?" Harry's hesitant murmur had no effect upon the crushed girl. He baby stepped towards her. "Come inside, Mione, please. It's cold." He raised his voice so it would somehow disguise her desperate sobs.

"H- he," She stuttered, "he's g- gone." She whispered incredulously, her eyes wide with tears fixed on the Apparating spot.

Harry brought his hand to her hair, gently caressing it.

"He r- really is g- gone." She choked on her words.

"I am sorry." He tried. It was lame, but all he could muster while seeing her that broken.

Hermione did not appear to have heard him. "He is never c- coming back, is h- he? He's g- gone for g- good."

"Don't say that. He will. I know it."

Her eyes met his for the first time, and Harry immediately regretted having said so. A last shred of hope was visible, and he wanted everything but to give her false hopes.

"Come here." He pulled her head to his chest and hugged her, swinging both their bodies rhythmically. He felt her shiver between sobs. "Let's go inside."

A faint complain left her mouth, but he dismissed it, gently motioning her in the tent's direction.

"_Incendio._" He lit a candle, and the small division's details were suddenly measurable. She still had no intentions of walking on her own, thus Harry pushed her onto the improvised bed. She laid her head on the pillow and the sobbing stopped. "Sleep. Tomorrow we'll figure things out, okay?" He said with as much encouragement as he could, slowly standing up from the bed in the process.

She grabbed him by the elbow.

"Don't…" He was vaguely relieved her voice was a weak whisper. Whispers did not have a mind of their own. They did not get to show despair. "Don't go. Stay with me."

Surprised, Harry let himself do as she begged him.

"Don't abandon me."

He felt his throat closing up. There were no words he could say – he was physically unable. The weight of everything that had happened was suddenly on his shoulders, and he felt the embarrassing urge to cry. His friend – his brother – had just left them at the Death Eaters' mercy, without looking back even once. And the reason behind such a childish act…Harry could not even begin to apprehend it. Jealousy. He smirked inwardly. Dumbledore thought Love to be the weapon that would get Voldemort killed. But what if it messed Harry's life up first so badly he would eventually fall along with it?

He glanced at the girl pretending to sleep. She had always been by his side; always put his needs before hers; always reminded him of why he should keep fighting. He would not fail her this time. It was painfully obvious it had been his fault Ron had left. He was going to fix her, even if he had to put her needs before the entire magical community's and postpone the final fight for a few days only.

"We're going to Remus' tomorrow." He confided her. Leaning against the wall, he heard the almost imperceptible sigh of contentment. He had known for a long time how tired, scared she was, but had never found the pretext to stop for a minute.

Her features were facing the wall. Harry sat by her the whole night.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I know they had no Portkeys available in the book, but I need them to have improvised one in my story, okay?**

**Thank you, Read and Review, guys :D **

**P.S. bear with me: 1- my one and only multi-chaptered (does this word even exist?) story; 2- I'm Portuguese, not English, so my grammar surely has some flaws**

**The following morning**

Harry held Hermione tightly close to him, his arm resting protectively on her shoulders. She laid her head onto his chest and shut her eyes, biting her lower lip in anticipation. "On my count." He whispered. "One, two, _three_." Both their hands grabbed the Portkey shaped like a broken bottle at the same time, and the usual nausea came over them as quickly as the spinning stopped.

Their feet reached the ground with an empty thud, and Harry had to fight harder than ever not to lose his balance as he was Hermione's only support, and the girl's legs were shaking and appeared rather unsteady. "We're here, Hermione." His reassuring words never got to her. He had to look away. He could not afford to stare right into her eyes and be reminded of why they were in front of Remus' house in the first place. He had had to pull himself together the previous night, but he did not think he would be able to do so one more time.

So he looked away.

His eyes fell on a small, cozy cottage surrounded by a daffodils' garden. "Nice place, huh? Tonks must be doing Remus some good." He smiled down at Hermione, and was surprised to see her hesitantly smile back at him.

A stampede of sparrows startled both of them.

"We have to hurry. Remus is expecting us, but I don't know who else might be." He grabbed her hand and forced her to run. He did not need to be facing her, though, to know her features were expressionless once again. He stopped on the front door, panting heavily, and knocked four times, rhythmically.

A harsh murmur filled the air. "Who is it?"

"Prongs." Harry answered as calmly as he could. He kept staring at the incredibly thick forest at his left, an unsettling feeling threatening to get a hold of his already wild mind.

"Moony." The man stated.

"Padfoot." He said the word with difficulty, each syllable draining his mouth.

"Wormtail." He felt Hermione shiver as a great amount of anger reached them. Harry squeezed her shoulder lightly.

"No. Not Wormtail. He belongs with the snake."

They heard Remus mutter a spell, and suddenly the door disappeared.

"The door will seal itself again in fourteen seconds. Come inside. Quickly."

"Thanks." Harry found himself pushing Hermione into the warm house. He felt Remus' stare on him and ignored it. The door closed with a soft thump, and it was then that Harry noticed how bright Remus' home was. It emanated hope. He felt Hermione's body tremble against his. "Are you cold, Mione?"

"I'm fine." She mumbled, her eyes locked on the rug. "Beautiful home, Remus."

The older man just looked questioningly at Harry, who mouthed an _I'll tell you later_. "Thank you, Hermione, but it's all Dora's work. You'll have to tell her that in a moment. She'll be delighted to know." The atmosphere was far from light, and Harry saw concern was written all over his former teacher's face.

"Where can I put our stuff?" He asked, trying to sound cheery.

"The floor will be fine. I've charmed every single object in here so that they just avoid our feet. It's very useful when your wife is the clumsiest person walking on Earth." Remus laughed fondly.

Harry dropped their bag on the floor and stretched his arms for the first time, refusing to glance at Hermione. She leaned against the wall. "I'm glad we're here. I just want to sit on a comfy couch. And you'll finally have the hot bath you've been nagging me about ever since we left Grimmauld Place." He grinned, still focusing on the stairs. The grin never did quite reach his eyes, though.

Remus had had enough of the façade.

"Hermione, will you go surprise Dora? I did not tell her you two were coming. She'll be incredibly happy when she finds out." He requested gently, and Harry shot him a thankful look.

"Sure." She forced a smile.

"She's in the kitchen. Second door on the left."

They watched her walk towards the kitchen in a somewhat awkward way. Harry could not help but wonder if the damage Ron had done to her would be permanent. Would she ever smile again? Would the famous Golden Trio ever be the same again? Would Ron ever come back?

Did he want Ron to come back?

"Harry." Remus brought Harry back to the reality.

"Yes." He said, somehow defiantly.

The older man just sighed. "Follow me."

And so he did. The two worn out males entered the living room, both haunted by their pasts. One was slowly healing. The other carried a burden that got heavier by day. Remus motioned for Harry to sit in one of the armchairs in front of his.

A significant silence was installed. Harry wondered whether he should be the one to start the talk.

A squeal of pleasure echoed from the kitchen, and Remus chuckled. "I guess Dora already knows."

Harry smiled. "You're happy." He announced.

"Yes." Remus confirmed. "But you are not."

Harry inhaled slowly and closed his eyes for a moment, showing signs of defeat. "Let's just say… the war has not been merciful to any of us."

"I know. Believe me, Harry, I do know what you mean." Remus stated fervently. "But you've come such a long way. Don't give up now."

The boy laughed soullessly. "It's not me who I am worried about. I don't think she can take much more." He told him, a serious look on his pained face.

"Oh. Ron?" Remus asked, already knowing the answer.

"He gave up on us last night. That's why we came on such a short notice." He said apologetically.

"Oh, never mind that. We're very glad to have you two over."

"Thanks." His eyes were absent, reliving the previous night. "She was broken, really. This is not a euphemism, I could actually see how broken she was. I think Ron was the last drop. The war, her parents, the Muggleborns' hunt. And then Ron. Why, Remus, why?"

Remus kept silent.

"I'm not used to this, you know? She's the one that keeps me on track. She makes me never want to give up. Of the three of us, she is always the one that has the last shred of hope. She represents everything I am fighting for. I want her to have a good life… but I keep ruining her chances." He felt his eyes becoming watery and started fidgeting.

Remus still did not say anything, and Harry was glad in a way. He wanted to get it all out.

"And what hurts the most… what hurts the most is that she is hurting. I could not stop this. I was the one that _caused_ this." He was miserable.

"How did you cause this?" Remus asked calmly, soothingly. "You were there for her."

"It was not enough."

"You tried. I saw it when you were the one trying to cheer her up. That was strange, you know? If I hadn't known before something was wrong, just that would have given you away." He chuckled, trying to lighten up his mood. "You're the one dark and gloomy, not her."

"Exactly. I should be the one hurting. Not the other way around."

Remus was silenced for good.

**A/N: Sooo, what did you all think? Drama, much, no? But that's how I like it. I'll try to brighten it up in the next few chapters, yes?**

**READ&REVIEW, okidoki?**

**Kisses,**

**Fbya**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I know, I know. A reaaaaally small chapter… The thing is, as this is the beginning of the story – kinda -, I have to break every chapter I write into two so they will stop right where I want them to. And another thing is that I unfortunately cannot write 10 000 words on the same part of the story – I'd LOVE to, but I'm just to raw… -, so I am very sorry if they "taste" "short of words" – you know what I mean? Lool, anyway, read and enjoy, people!**

**P.S. The Disclaimer in the first chapter works for all of them, yes? (LOL, I love the way Ziva (NCIS) talks!)**

The silence was almost unbearable. It carried Harry's burden, and reminded him of it every single second. He wanted to shout, to scream at the top of his lungs. He would have hated to see pity in Remus' eyes. That had not been his intention when he had decided to go visit his former teacher. He wanted guidance. But Remus appeared to be at a permanent loss for words. Guilt flooded Harry's mind.

"I'm so sorry, Remus. I really shouldn't have come… You are happy, and Tonks is expecting. The last thing you want to hear about is the war." He got up from the armchair and started walking towards the front door. He was not even going to pick Hermione up. She needed a well deserved break from the war. From her life with him.

He stopped dead when he heard a chuckle, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion. That sound… so out of place, and yet so comforting. He could not remember the last time he had heard someone chuckle.

"What?"

Remus raised himself from the chair, a small smile gracing his lips. "Are you leaving?"

"Yes." Harry stated firmly.

"What about Hermione?"

"She stays." His voice trembled almost unnoticeably.

"And you really think she'll let you leave?" There was that smile again. Harry wondered why.

"She _really_ has no choice."

Remus snorted playfully.

"You snorting. Now that's new." Harry tried to mock him. His tone, though, gave him away.

Remus sat down once more and stared at the fireplace, one hand rubbing his chin. He appeared thoughtful. A proud smile met Harry. "The entire world's future rests on your shoulders, and you have never let us down." He silenced Harry when he was about to interrupt him. "No, please, sit down and hear me out. Your parents, Dumbledore, Sirius. You have lost so much already. And I know you will never willingly abandon someone you love."

"Of course I won't. I don't see what that has to do with -" Harry protested.

"Hermione…" Remus smiled. Harry's voice faded away as he focused his eyes on the floor. "She's a part of you, Harry. No matter how hard you try to deny it, I know you and Hermione share a bond so deep both of you feel the safest thing to do is ignore it."

Remus waited for him to complain. He never did. Harry did not even flush, or became embarrassed. He merely drew imaginary circles with his finger on the couch.

"She lov-." He sighed. "Hermione loves-" He couldn't finish the sentence. He did not know why, but his tongue just refused to materialize the words.

Remus Lupin saw it then. It suddenly hit him. He finally knew why Ron had left.

He spoke gently. "You know she needs this. And you do, too."

The boy eyed him boldly, but Lupin merely dared him to contradict his statement.

The fireplace kept sending them waves of heat, trying to warm the atmosphere surrounding them. Harry's hands still trembled from times to times, though.

"I cannot afford to waste time right now… There are people depending on me." Harry finally confessed softly.

"Take a week, Harry. No more, no less than a week." The advice sounded so appealing. Harry considered it for a split second, and a soft twitch of his lips told Remus he was sending him in the right direction. "Hermione needs you too."

There it was. Harry's eyes met Lupin's, the younger ones full of broken innocence. "She… she does?"

"Yes, Harry, she does." He smiled fondly.

He inhaled deeply. "You really think this is good for us?" He sought reassurance.

"Absolutely, Harry. You deserve a normal week. It's not like you've ever had one, right?"

Harry laughed half-heartedly. "I guess." He then remembered something. "But I am supposed to keep in touch with the Order. And I doubt they will be as understanding as you… This might seem just a teenager's conflict to an outsider…"

"Don't worry. I'll take care of them. You just worry about your vacation." Harry smirked at this. "And I'll stall them. Okay?" Lupin encouraged.

"You'd really do that?" Harry asked, hopefully.

"Consider it done." Remus grinned. "I am here for you, Harry. Never forget that."

A huge weight was lifted from Harry's chest. It had been there since the night before, but the moment Remus assured him he would have his break – Hermione would have _her_ break -, he could breathe. In, and out. A satisfied smile appeared on his tired features and he got up. Remus' eyes fell. He lifted his body from the armchair as well.

"What's with the long face?" Harry's feet stopped walking as the boy stared at his former teacher, confused.

"I see you've made up your mind." His voice was low. "Come here." He raised his arms in order to hug Harry he complied, still bemused.

"Are you saying I can't stay?"

The hug was put on hold.

"So you're staying?"

"I'm staying." He confirmed. "I thought I had been clear." Harry laughed. Remus smiled contentedly.

"Then, Harry…"

"Yes?"

"Welcome home."

Just then, a high pitched sound came from the kitchen. The smell of muffins invaded Harry's nostrils.

**A/N: Yap, done. Don't worry, I'll post very soon, I hope :P Don't be too disappointed, pleeeeease. Just so you know, I'm not that happy with this chapter either. It's just very difficult for me to write a HarryRemus scene. Nonetheless, I really hope you stick with this story, because, though with its ups and downs, it is being really funny and rewarding to write and read the reviews!**

**So, Reviews make my world go round (I heard this in a play, but I have no idea if it is well written :P Pardon me if it's not.)**

**Kisses,**

**Febya**


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